ACCA International Report on Audit Standards Published

The ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) have published a report that has found that recent changes to auditor reporting standards have improved the quality of information available to investors. The Institute has also noted a positive effect on governance and corporate reporting. The report is entitled “Key Audit Matters” and analyses the effects of recent changes to auditor reporting standards, which became applicable in many parts of the world from the December 2016 year-end audits and involved 560 audit reports across eleven countries and four continents. The changes in standards have involved auditors being required to list the areas of the audit that involve the most risk and explain the audit approach to those areas.

In addition, the revised standards re-order the audit report to prioritise information that is most relevant to users, and improve the disclosure requirements around ‘going concern’ issues. The report finds that these standards have resulted in the provision of better information for investors, and have also encouraged improvements throughout the financial reporting chain.